I am an associate professor of Political Science and Public Administration and participate in the interdisciplinary Program in Law and Social Thought at the University of Toledo. I serve as an undergraduate advisor for my department and as a pre-law advisor for the College of Arts and Sciences.

In my book Beyond the First Amendment: The Politics of Free Speech and Pluralism (Johns Hopkins University Press) I argue that the concept of freedom of speech is poorly defined in current debates structured by the First Amendment, exacerbating contentious disputes over the regulation of hate speech, new information technology, arts funding and workplace speech. I develop a model of justification drawn from the libertarian, expressivist and egalitarian justifications of freedom of speech that enables us not only to move beyond these quagmires but to recognize, contextualize, and resolve previously unrecognized free speech claims.

My current research concerns issues arising from American legal practice and I am working on a new book about the difficult relationship between constitutionalism and democratic theory. I am most interested in the kinds of problems that we tend to think will be answered by lawyers but in the end turn out to involve complicated problems of political theory not adequately addressed by constitutional history and doctrine.